207 00:22:58.085 --> 00:23:02.515 Psalm 77 verses one through nine, I cry out to God. 208 00:23:02.935 --> 00:23:04.955 Yes, I shout, oh, 209 00:23:04.956 --> 00:23:08.475 that God would listen to me when I was in deep trouble, 210 00:23:08.835 --> 00:23:11.435 I searched for the Lord all night long. 211 00:23:11.595 --> 00:23:16.435 I prayed with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. 212 00:23:17.234 --> 00:23:21.755 I think of God and I moan overwhelmed with longing for his help. 213 00:23:23.055 --> 00:23:26.715 You don't let me sleep. I'm too distressed even to pray. 214 00:23:27.635 --> 00:23:32.234 I think of the good old days long since ended when my nights were filled with 215 00:23:32.295 --> 00:23:37.155 joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference. Now, 216 00:23:37.895 --> 00:23:39.875 has the Lord rejected me forever? 217 00:23:41.065 --> 00:23:43.155 Will he never again be kind to me? 218 00:23:44.355 --> 00:23:46.445 It's his unfailing love gone forever. 219 00:23:47.475 --> 00:23:49.645 Have his promises permanently failed? 220 00:23:50.705 --> 00:23:52.885 Has God forgotten to be gracious? 221 00:23:53.905 --> 00:23:56.645 Has he slammed the door on his compassion? 222 00:23:57.595 --> 00:23:59.125 This is the word of the Lord. 223 00:24:05.785 --> 00:24:08.744 It's at the end of 2018. Um, 224 00:24:11.185 --> 00:24:12.465 I got puked on 225 00:24:14.785 --> 00:24:17.785 in a blaze pizza in Columbus, Ohio. 226 00:24:19.415 --> 00:24:22.185 Somehow that sentence keeps getting worse. I don't really know how 227 00:24:26.345 --> 00:24:27.178 It turns out. 228 00:24:27.215 --> 00:24:30.505 That would be the second worst experience I ever had inside of a Blaze Pizza 229 00:24:30.905 --> 00:24:31.725 . 230 00:24:31.725 --> 00:24:34.505 And I'll tell you a little bit more about that experience in just a minute. 231 00:24:34.565 --> 00:24:35.305 But first, I, 232 00:24:35.305 --> 00:24:39.025 I just want to kind of let you behind the curtain into our world a little bit 233 00:24:39.026 --> 00:24:41.265 about what it is that we do here. You know, as a teaching team, 234 00:24:41.285 --> 00:24:45.785 we all get together and we sit down and we, we pray and we think about, okay, 235 00:24:45.805 --> 00:24:49.505 God, what is the, what is the passage of scripture that you want us to teach on? 236 00:24:50.285 --> 00:24:53.665 And then what we do is we sit down at our computers and we start typing stuff 237 00:24:53.666 --> 00:24:56.385 out. And we start thinking, we start, we start trying to figure out, okay, 238 00:24:56.695 --> 00:24:57.785 hope is a big church. 239 00:24:58.725 --> 00:25:02.825 How do we communicate this in a way that it connects with as many people as 240 00:25:03.025 --> 00:25:04.945 possible? Because the reality is, 241 00:25:05.065 --> 00:25:07.145 is that we have people from all different walks of life. First of all, 242 00:25:07.146 --> 00:25:10.744 we have five campuses scattered all across the triangle. We have, uh, 243 00:25:10.775 --> 00:25:13.825 mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters. We have older people, 244 00:25:13.826 --> 00:25:17.465 we have younger people. We have, uh, transplants, people who have moved from, 245 00:25:18.065 --> 00:25:21.545 uh, uh, New York, people who have moved from Iowa. We have businessmen, 246 00:25:21.546 --> 00:25:22.505 we have single moms. 247 00:25:22.506 --> 00:25:26.145 We have all these different types of people and we're trying to communicate the 248 00:25:26.146 --> 00:25:29.145 same truth, which by the way, some of them don't even believe in. 249 00:25:31.125 --> 00:25:32.065 And on top of that, 250 00:25:32.725 --> 00:25:36.585 we only have 30 minutes or 25 depending on who you ask, right? 251 00:25:38.805 --> 00:25:40.665 And so we're sitting here trying to figure that out. 252 00:25:40.666 --> 00:25:43.625 And our goal is always to try to make the message connect with as many people 253 00:25:43.905 --> 00:25:45.185 as, as we can possibly do. 254 00:25:45.186 --> 00:25:47.345 But here's the reality about what we're gonna talk about today. 255 00:25:47.855 --> 00:25:51.145 This message is not going to connect with everyone, 256 00:25:53.005 --> 00:25:54.744 but I think as a collective, as a family, 257 00:25:54.805 --> 00:25:59.744 we can do ourselves a favor if we can all try to lean into this one 258 00:25:59.745 --> 00:26:04.335 really tough thing to do. I just want to ask, 259 00:26:04.555 --> 00:26:07.175 and I wanna invite you to be honest 260 00:26:09.535 --> 00:26:12.035 For the next 26 minutes that we have together, my, 261 00:26:12.055 --> 00:26:16.275 my ask of you is that you would just be honest because we're gonna talk about 262 00:26:16.276 --> 00:26:20.515 some things that just require a brutal level of honesty. Allow me to start. 263 00:26:22.635 --> 00:26:25.635 Uh, 2022, uh, two years ago, uh, 264 00:26:25.955 --> 00:26:29.035 I applied for a different role here at Hope. Uh, 265 00:26:29.036 --> 00:26:32.635 currently I work with our middle school students and I love what I get to do, 266 00:26:32.695 --> 00:26:36.835 but there was an opportunity to be the young adults pastor here that, uh, 267 00:26:37.055 --> 00:26:39.234 in my mind just kind of made sense. Uh, 268 00:26:39.275 --> 00:26:41.515 I had already had some relationship with that ministry. 269 00:26:41.675 --> 00:26:45.045 I enjoyed serving with people for as long as I've been a Christian. 270 00:26:45.105 --> 00:26:49.805 My favorite group of people to minister to and to serve has always been my 271 00:26:49.806 --> 00:26:52.845 peers. So the people that's always kind of in the same stage of life with me. 272 00:26:52.865 --> 00:26:55.605 So it, it, it felt like it just makes sense. And on top of that, 273 00:26:56.205 --> 00:26:59.365 everyone that I spoke to, when they heard that the role became available, 274 00:26:59.475 --> 00:27:01.525 they just kind of started whispering. Like, Hey, you're gonna, 275 00:27:01.645 --> 00:27:04.965 you're gonna apply for that, right? You obviously, 276 00:27:04.966 --> 00:27:07.845 this just kind of seems like a clear fit. You're, you're gonna go for this. 277 00:27:07.865 --> 00:27:10.045 But me being a good little Christian, 278 00:27:10.405 --> 00:27:12.484 I had been doing this thing for a while and I said, Nope, 279 00:27:12.785 --> 00:27:13.765 I'm gonna be different this time. 280 00:27:13.865 --> 00:27:17.165 I'm not gonna rush in head first to something that I think is the right call. 281 00:27:17.385 --> 00:27:21.675 I'm gonna pray about it. So that's exactly what I started doing. 282 00:27:22.685 --> 00:27:26.195 There were about two weeks that the position was posted internally before we, 283 00:27:26.595 --> 00:27:30.075 uh, opened it up to people outside of Hope. Um, and so I waited. 284 00:27:30.155 --> 00:27:33.395 I it was a buzzer beater, man. I waited until the last possible second. 285 00:27:33.615 --> 00:27:35.675 And the reason why is I wanted to take that full two weeks. 286 00:27:35.715 --> 00:27:36.795 I wanted to pray about it. 287 00:27:37.435 --> 00:27:40.675 I wanted to go to my favorite coffee shop and make a very spiritual pro cons 288 00:27:40.744 --> 00:27:41.577 list. , 289 00:27:42.195 --> 00:27:45.915 I went on prayer drive so long that I got lost in the city of Raleigh. 290 00:27:45.915 --> 00:27:47.515 Like I didn't know where I was anymore, 291 00:27:47.775 --> 00:27:50.555 didn't care how much gas cost that I was just, God, I'm here for you. 292 00:27:50.935 --> 00:27:52.155 I'm gonna seek your face in this. 293 00:27:53.375 --> 00:27:57.715 And I prayed until I sensed two things. One, 294 00:27:58.155 --> 00:28:01.595 I felt like I got, I heard God say, go ahead, apply for that role. 295 00:28:02.855 --> 00:28:06.035 And the second thing was, is I felt that whether I got it or not, 296 00:28:06.555 --> 00:28:09.915 I was gonna be content. So I go ahead and I, 297 00:28:09.955 --> 00:28:13.994 I put my name in the hat for the role and go through a couple of different 298 00:28:13.995 --> 00:28:17.515 interview processes. And then eventually I get a call from somebody 299 00:28:19.135 --> 00:28:19.994 and they say, Hey, 300 00:28:22.055 --> 00:28:24.195 are you free to meet up at Blaze Pizza tomorrow? 301 00:28:26.655 --> 00:28:30.795 And that turned out to be the worst experience I would ever have in a Blaze 302 00:28:30.796 --> 00:28:31.629 Pizza 303 00:28:33.215 --> 00:28:37.955 sat across the table as someone told me, Hey, listen, we're going to, 304 00:28:37.956 --> 00:28:40.595 we're gonna go a different direction now. I'm gonna be completely honest. 305 00:28:40.655 --> 00:28:43.435 The way this person handled it, man, there was so much grace. 306 00:28:43.445 --> 00:28:47.875 There was so much goodness. Like I genuinely felt, uh, like just the, 307 00:28:47.876 --> 00:28:51.435 the warmth and the goodness of Jesus radiating off of this person as he 308 00:28:51.436 --> 00:28:55.715 explained why and all this sort of stuff. I, I genuinely was okay with him, 309 00:28:56.495 --> 00:28:58.115 but I still found myself disappointed. 310 00:28:58.655 --> 00:29:01.235 And maybe you found yourself in a situation similar to that. 311 00:29:01.236 --> 00:29:04.675 Maybe you found yourself in a situation where there was an opportunity that you 312 00:29:04.676 --> 00:29:07.955 got your hopes up for and then it didn't work out. And so you got disappointed. 313 00:29:08.685 --> 00:29:12.275 Maybe there was a relationship that you thought would work out and it didn't. 314 00:29:12.276 --> 00:29:13.395 And so you got disappointed. 315 00:29:13.485 --> 00:29:18.035 Maybe someone else let you down and you got disappointed if you were here back 316 00:29:18.036 --> 00:29:18.869 in January, 317 00:29:19.155 --> 00:29:21.675 Dwayne did a phenomenal message where he walked us through the book of 318 00:29:21.835 --> 00:29:25.515 Ecclesiastes and he talked about how there are five things that the book of 319 00:29:25.635 --> 00:29:29.915 Ecclesiastes warns us about putting our hope in because these things will let us 320 00:29:29.916 --> 00:29:30.749 down. 321 00:29:32.335 --> 00:29:36.035 And so whether you believe in the Bible or if you've just lived through the 322 00:29:36.036 --> 00:29:37.475 school of hard knocks, you know, 323 00:29:37.495 --> 00:29:40.995 not to get your hopes too tied up in the wrong thing because those things may 324 00:29:41.110 --> 00:29:43.150 disappoint you. But here's why I want to invite you to be honest. 325 00:29:45.275 --> 00:29:47.885 Look past the circumstance. 326 00:29:49.835 --> 00:29:51.685 Look past the person that let you down. 327 00:29:53.395 --> 00:29:55.685 Look past yourself when you feel like you've let you down. And let, 328 00:29:55.925 --> 00:30:00.125 let me ask you a question. Have you ever felt like God let you down? 329 00:30:03.535 --> 00:30:04.945 Have you ever felt like, man, 330 00:30:05.065 --> 00:30:07.905 I got a finger and I gotta point it somewhere and it's going right here. 331 00:30:10.565 --> 00:30:13.945 God, why would you let me get my hopes up? God, 332 00:30:13.965 --> 00:30:16.185 why would you make such a clear path to this thing? 333 00:30:16.725 --> 00:30:18.985 You know what my frustration was? God, why would, 334 00:30:18.986 --> 00:30:21.505 like I prayed for weeks about this thing. 335 00:30:21.605 --> 00:30:24.305 Why didn't you cut me off like three days in and say, Hey, now I play, 336 00:30:24.306 --> 00:30:25.139 don't worry about it. 337 00:30:26.605 --> 00:30:31.185 Why did you let me get so emotionally invested in this thing just to 338 00:30:31.505 --> 00:30:36.105 seemingly let me down. Come on, God, 339 00:30:36.385 --> 00:30:40.945 I've I've played the game, I prayed, I fasted, I worshiped, 340 00:30:41.065 --> 00:30:46.025 I served, I gave up, up, down, down left, right ab start, right? I, 341 00:30:46.105 --> 00:30:50.045 I had typed in the cheat code. What happened? 342 00:30:51.575 --> 00:30:54.515 Listen, if you've ever felt that way, don't worry. 343 00:30:55.215 --> 00:31:00.155 You're in pretty common company because there's a story of two 344 00:31:00.156 --> 00:31:04.995 of Jesus's earliest disciples who find themselves in the same situation. 345 00:31:06.695 --> 00:31:09.835 And so if you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Luke chapter 24. 346 00:31:12.555 --> 00:31:15.895 See, for us as humans, we have all sorts of things that, 347 00:31:15.896 --> 00:31:17.535 that we wanna blame God for, right? 348 00:31:19.215 --> 00:31:23.105 Because maybe there's something that we misheard. I didn't get the scholarship, 349 00:31:24.785 --> 00:31:28.015 we miscarried, the marriage didn't work out. 350 00:31:29.155 --> 00:31:32.895 But these two disciples had walked with Jesus. 351 00:31:33.605 --> 00:31:34.775 They had heard his teaching. 352 00:31:37.235 --> 00:31:41.855 And at the time of this story, three days ago, Jesus was nailed to a cross. 353 00:31:44.465 --> 00:31:48.365 And all of their hopes and dreams felt nailed up on that cross as well. 354 00:31:48.366 --> 00:31:51.925 When they rolled the stone in front of the tomb, they thought, 355 00:31:53.305 --> 00:31:56.355 well, there it is. There's everything we had to hold onto. 356 00:31:58.255 --> 00:32:00.595 And so in Luke 24, 13 through 35, 357 00:32:00.775 --> 00:32:05.275 we hear about what happens with these two disciples as the show is over in 358 00:32:05.276 --> 00:32:09.355 Jerusalem and they start making their way back to a town called Emmaus. 359 00:32:10.925 --> 00:32:12.475 We're gonna start picking up in verse 13. 360 00:32:12.476 --> 00:32:16.555 It says that very day two of them were going to the village named Emmaus, 361 00:32:16.805 --> 00:32:18.875 about seven miles from Jerusalem. 362 00:32:18.895 --> 00:32:22.715 And they were talking with each other about these things that had happened. 363 00:32:22.735 --> 00:32:25.155 And I just, I, I try to imagine their conversation. 364 00:32:25.275 --> 00:32:27.715 I try to imagine their disappointment, right? 365 00:32:29.045 --> 00:32:31.405 I imagine one saying you the other one, do you really think that's it? 366 00:32:35.205 --> 00:32:35.486 And like, man, 367 00:32:35.486 --> 00:32:39.285 he had that bit about destroying the temple and building it back up in three 368 00:32:39.286 --> 00:32:41.245 days. Like how is that gonna happen now? 369 00:32:43.095 --> 00:32:45.515 And right around the time they think, yeah man, I think that's it. 370 00:32:45.516 --> 00:32:47.315 The show's over. They probably go, but wait a minute. 371 00:32:47.365 --> 00:32:49.235 Don't you remember all those miracles he did? 372 00:32:49.905 --> 00:32:51.555 Like he had to be somebody special. 373 00:32:52.705 --> 00:32:55.665 Remember that time he fed the 5,000 and he called Lazarus up out of the great? 374 00:32:55.666 --> 00:32:57.705 Like remember all of those things? Uh, 375 00:33:00.075 --> 00:33:03.165 what do we do now? What do we believe now? 376 00:33:03.785 --> 00:33:08.245 We put all of our eggs in this basket of a man named Jesus and now 377 00:33:08.555 --> 00:33:09.388 he's gone. 378 00:33:11.865 --> 00:33:15.715 Remember his promises about rest for the weary. What happened to those? 379 00:33:19.455 --> 00:33:21.495 I want you to catch this next part of the story. 380 00:33:21.496 --> 00:33:22.655 If you don't catch anything else, 381 00:33:23.365 --> 00:33:26.295 this next verse is the linchpin of everything we're gonna be talking about here. 382 00:33:26.765 --> 00:33:27.895 Luke 24 15, 383 00:33:29.355 --> 00:33:31.945 while they were talking and discussing together, 384 00:33:33.075 --> 00:33:36.625 Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 385 00:33:38.575 --> 00:33:43.265 They're walking down this long road. They're contemplating their disappointment. 386 00:33:43.855 --> 00:33:45.585 They're living in confusion together. 387 00:33:46.335 --> 00:33:50.745 They're trying to make sense of the other one's pain. And in the middle of that, 388 00:33:51.755 --> 00:33:53.345 Jesus meets them along the road. 389 00:33:55.175 --> 00:33:59.875 And here's the truth that I want you to internalize and to hold onto is that 390 00:33:59.876 --> 00:34:03.555 Jesus meets us in the middle of our disappointment. 391 00:34:04.455 --> 00:34:07.475 He doesn't leave you there to deal with it all alone. 392 00:34:08.255 --> 00:34:13.235 God himself meets us in the middle of our 393 00:34:13.236 --> 00:34:14.069 disappointment. 394 00:34:15.915 --> 00:34:19.075 And I think too many of us believe the lie that God leaves us to deal with our 395 00:34:19.076 --> 00:34:21.515 disapproval of Him all by ourselves. 396 00:34:26.235 --> 00:34:31.155 I want to give you one word to describe why I think this is a lie. 397 00:34:31.156 --> 00:34:33.515 Like the belief that God leaves us alone. 398 00:34:34.364 --> 00:34:39.165 We're gonna celebrate it in a couple of weeks here. It's Easter. Listen, 399 00:34:39.185 --> 00:34:43.925 if Jesus was going to leave us in the middle of our disappointment 400 00:34:44.135 --> 00:34:47.005 alone, we wouldn't have anything to celebrate in a couple of weeks. 401 00:34:48.185 --> 00:34:49.125 The reality is, 402 00:34:49.145 --> 00:34:52.685 is that God so desires to be close to you in the middle of your disappointment, 403 00:34:52.755 --> 00:34:56.685 that he was willing to demote himself, to put on flesh, 404 00:34:56.705 --> 00:35:01.285 to come to this earth, to let you know, Hey, I'm here with you and I see you. 405 00:35:02.755 --> 00:35:06.455 And now that's the thing that we get to celebrate at the center of this faith 406 00:35:06.525 --> 00:35:10.655 that we call our own is a God who loves us enough to draw near 407 00:35:14.755 --> 00:35:17.844 most of us don't deal with the fact that when we're frustrated with God, 408 00:35:19.065 --> 00:35:23.645 the reality is not that he pulls away from us, it's that we pull away from him. 409 00:35:26.145 --> 00:35:28.605 God is always there. He's always ready to talk. 410 00:35:28.825 --> 00:35:32.005 God does not have conflict avoidance issues. We do. 411 00:35:33.505 --> 00:35:35.855 We're the ones who say, oh, I'm not gonna talk to God no more. 412 00:35:36.715 --> 00:35:38.525 I prayed last time you saw what happened. 413 00:35:39.475 --> 00:35:41.875 I went to him before with this thing and he just kinda let it go. 414 00:35:42.505 --> 00:35:44.795 I've tried all these different things to try to, 415 00:35:45.015 --> 00:35:48.875 to prove to him that I want to talk to him. And every time I talk to him, 416 00:35:48.915 --> 00:35:49.955 I feel disappointed. So you know what? 417 00:35:49.956 --> 00:35:51.155 I'm just gonna sit here and be stink about it. 418 00:35:51.795 --> 00:35:53.735 I don't wanna have anything to do with him. 419 00:35:55.755 --> 00:35:58.015 But God's not afraid of even that. 420 00:36:00.445 --> 00:36:01.495 When you read the Bible, 421 00:36:01.625 --> 00:36:06.265 there are so many things in here that talk about people's 422 00:36:06.266 --> 00:36:09.545 disapproval of God. And guess what? He kept it in the book. 423 00:36:10.985 --> 00:36:12.745 I want you to imagine this for just a second. Okay? 424 00:36:12.855 --> 00:36:16.065 Imagine a publisher came to you and they said, Hey listen, uh, 425 00:36:16.235 --> 00:36:19.265 we're gonna write a book about your life. Uh, 426 00:36:19.325 --> 00:36:21.025 but you're not gonna write the book. Uh, 427 00:36:21.305 --> 00:36:24.505 actually what's gonna happen is we're gonna have a group of about 40 or 50 428 00:36:24.506 --> 00:36:28.545 people write the book and their book is gonna be all about their perspectives 429 00:36:28.594 --> 00:36:29.427 about you. 430 00:36:30.075 --> 00:36:32.705 Every Sunday a group of people are gonna get together and they're gonna talk 431 00:36:32.755 --> 00:36:36.305 about you based on what's written in the book. Matter of fact, 432 00:36:36.325 --> 00:36:39.425 we struck a deal with Hilton. Every hotel in the nightstand, 433 00:36:39.426 --> 00:36:42.385 there's gonna be a copy of this book about your life right there next to your 434 00:36:42.386 --> 00:36:44.465 bed. There's even gonna be an app. 435 00:36:45.055 --> 00:36:48.705 Anybody across the world with a smartphone can pull out this app and they can 436 00:36:48.706 --> 00:36:52.585 start reading about people's interaction with you. But before we put it out, 437 00:36:53.435 --> 00:36:57.065 we're gonna give you the chance to edit it. You can sanitize it, 438 00:36:57.066 --> 00:36:59.185 you can clean it up, you can take anything out that you wanna take out. 439 00:36:59.186 --> 00:37:01.305 You can leave anything in that you wanna leave in. Lemme ask you, 440 00:37:01.306 --> 00:37:04.065 would you take out all of the stuff that wasn't wasn't true? 441 00:37:05.315 --> 00:37:08.625 Would you take out the parts that paint you in somewhat of a negative light? 442 00:37:09.625 --> 00:37:12.575 Would you leave in the parts where people were frustrated with you? 443 00:37:13.445 --> 00:37:17.635 Because guess what God did? It's called the Psalms. 444 00:37:18.855 --> 00:37:21.675 We read one of these earlier at the beginning of the message. 445 00:37:21.775 --> 00:37:25.355 My wife came out here and she read Psalm 77 and listen to some of the things 446 00:37:25.625 --> 00:37:29.195 that the psalmist says about God says, when I was in deep trouble, 447 00:37:29.435 --> 00:37:31.395 I searched for the Lord all night long. 448 00:37:31.635 --> 00:37:36.395 I prayed with hands lifted high towards heaven, but my soul was not comforted. 449 00:37:38.765 --> 00:37:43.665 I'm too distressed even to pray. Has the Lord rejected me forever? 450 00:37:45.105 --> 00:37:48.114 Will he never be kind again? Come on church. Have you ever felt this way? 451 00:37:48.185 --> 00:37:50.675 Have his promises permanently failed? 452 00:37:52.135 --> 00:37:54.395 Has God forgotten to be gracious? 453 00:37:55.295 --> 00:37:58.195 Has he slammed his door on compassion? 454 00:37:59.725 --> 00:38:03.465 Can we acknowledge how awkward it is that that made it into the book? 455 00:38:04.415 --> 00:38:05.545 Come on, let's be real. 456 00:38:05.685 --> 00:38:09.344 If you were at small group and somebody in your small group started saying these 457 00:38:09.505 --> 00:38:11.864 things about God, you'd be like, Hey, we gotta pray for brother so and so. 458 00:38:11.865 --> 00:38:16.185 He going through it right now, man, I feel like that brother's far from God. 459 00:38:16.186 --> 00:38:18.185 He's saying some stuff that I know is not true. 460 00:38:20.395 --> 00:38:22.255 Can I present to you a possibility? 461 00:38:24.465 --> 00:38:28.015 Maybe brother so and so is closer to God in that moment than anybody else in the 462 00:38:28.016 --> 00:38:33.015 circle because he's willing to openly and honestly vocalize 463 00:38:33.016 --> 00:38:37.594 what his heart is truly feeling about God. There's a quote out there 464 00:38:39.125 --> 00:38:40.895 that says that when you're angry with God, 465 00:38:40.915 --> 00:38:45.735 you're totally close because you can't be mad with someone who doesn't exist. 466 00:38:48.515 --> 00:38:52.535 And I just wonder if sometimes in our self-righteousness, 467 00:38:53.045 --> 00:38:55.855 even when we're upset with God, we start to tell ourselves, 468 00:38:56.055 --> 00:39:00.855 oh God is good all the time. All the time God is good. And we put up this wall 469 00:39:02.435 --> 00:39:07.145 that's actually more sinful than us being honest in that moment. 470 00:39:07.445 --> 00:39:12.305 Our lying is more of an offense to God than any of the harsh stuff that would 471 00:39:12.425 --> 00:39:15.915 come out of our hearts towards him. He already knows what's in there, 472 00:39:16.775 --> 00:39:19.155 so he wants us to bring it to him. 473 00:39:21.025 --> 00:39:25.565 You know what's more awkward about this Psalm? Psalm 77, . 474 00:39:26.755 --> 00:39:31.325 This wasn't like one of David's, this wasn't a personal journal entry. 475 00:39:32.545 --> 00:39:36.445 The Bible tells us that this psalm was actually written for corporate worship. 476 00:39:38.925 --> 00:39:43.585 One of the great practices that I think the church as a whole has left behind in 477 00:39:43.586 --> 00:39:47.425 tradition is singing communal songs of lament to God. 478 00:39:48.965 --> 00:39:53.415 And think about how weird it would be if we did think about of worship ended 479 00:39:54.364 --> 00:39:58.015 worship leaders up here, long flowing hair, guitar. I'm talking about Tommy. 480 00:39:59.135 --> 00:39:59.968 . 481 00:40:01.155 --> 00:40:04.775 And he goes, God, my kid got sick this week. 482 00:40:05.475 --> 00:40:08.535 What's up with that? Amen. Y'all can grab your seats. 483 00:40:14.325 --> 00:40:18.585 Is Tommy okay ? Can he say that in a room like this? 484 00:40:20.585 --> 00:40:21.265 I think he should. 485 00:40:21.265 --> 00:40:23.785 I think this should be the place where we're allowed to be the most vulnerable 486 00:40:24.735 --> 00:40:26.085 about what we're feeling with God. 487 00:40:27.165 --> 00:40:27.998 . 488 00:40:28.265 --> 00:40:31.125 But instead we lie to ourselves and in turn we lie to him. Before you didn't. 489 00:40:33.025 --> 00:40:34.525 But Jesus isn't afraid of any of it. 490 00:40:35.305 --> 00:40:37.765 We learn throughout the rest of these passages that Jesus, 491 00:40:37.905 --> 00:40:40.685 he actually has the ability. We'll see it later on in this story. 492 00:40:40.775 --> 00:40:44.565 Jesus actually has the ability to like teleport at this time. 493 00:40:44.725 --> 00:40:46.765 I know it sounds wild, but post-resurrection, 494 00:40:46.766 --> 00:40:49.005 there's all sorts of stories of him just popping up a room like, Hey, 495 00:40:49.006 --> 00:40:50.405 what's up guys? He does this all the time. 496 00:40:51.585 --> 00:40:55.685 And as soon as he heard these disciples, uh, voicing their disappointments, 497 00:40:55.745 --> 00:40:56.885 he could have just disappeared. 498 00:40:58.135 --> 00:41:02.605 Jesus didn't accidentally run into them on this road. He went and found them. 499 00:41:03.905 --> 00:41:07.245 But we learn a very interesting detail in the next verse. In verse 16. 500 00:41:08.225 --> 00:41:09.844 It says that when Jesus showed up there, 501 00:41:10.105 --> 00:41:13.525 it says their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 502 00:41:14.614 --> 00:41:15.447 Isn't that weird? 503 00:41:17.305 --> 00:41:21.255 Jesus shows up there and by the power of the Holy Spirit, for whatever reason, 504 00:41:21.275 --> 00:41:25.675 he doesn't allow them to see him. You wonder why that is? 505 00:41:27.035 --> 00:41:27.868 I'll tell you why. 506 00:41:31.145 --> 00:41:34.594 Do you remember that scene from Toy Story, um, 507 00:41:35.315 --> 00:41:37.795 where it's at the end of the movie, 508 00:41:38.225 --> 00:41:42.355 buzz and Woody are trying to get back home and they're on this moving truck. 509 00:41:42.835 --> 00:41:43.955 They get kicked off the moving truck. 510 00:41:44.335 --> 00:41:47.835 And so they find RC the little race car and they hop on the back of rc. 511 00:41:47.836 --> 00:41:50.275 And so they're driving up to try to get back on the truck 'cause they're trying 512 00:41:50.276 --> 00:41:53.795 to get back home to Andy. But when they're about halfway there, 513 00:41:53.796 --> 00:41:57.755 the battery's in the car die, but they have a rocket strapped to their back. 514 00:41:58.815 --> 00:42:02.435 So Woody takes the rocket and he lights it on fire and then he goes, oh wait, 515 00:42:02.465 --> 00:42:05.795 rockets explode. And they shoot up into the sky and then the rocket leaves him, 516 00:42:05.935 --> 00:42:09.395 and then Buzz starts flying and he goes, buzz, you're flying. He is like, 517 00:42:09.396 --> 00:42:12.594 this isn't flying, this is falling with style. 518 00:42:12.855 --> 00:42:16.475 And so he starts going and they see the truck and as they get close to it, 519 00:42:16.705 --> 00:42:21.155 buzz keeps flying over the truck and Woody goes, Hey Buzz, you missed the truck. 520 00:42:21.455 --> 00:42:23.875 And buzz goes, we weren't aiming for the truck. 521 00:42:26.135 --> 00:42:30.105 It's like that. If you're confused, 522 00:42:30.445 --> 00:42:33.065 let me explain it to you really quick. See, here's the thing. 523 00:42:33.275 --> 00:42:34.545 Jesus could have come up to them, 524 00:42:34.546 --> 00:42:37.425 they could have recognized him and could have said, oh Jesus, you're here. 525 00:42:37.725 --> 00:42:42.695 All of our doubts and all of our worries are put to rest. But Jesus says, no, 526 00:42:42.696 --> 00:42:44.415 listen, it's not about that. I'm trying to, 527 00:42:44.635 --> 00:42:47.735 I'm trying to help you get to the lie in the center of your disappointment. 528 00:42:49.655 --> 00:42:54.085 Jesus says, I'm not aiming for the truck. I'm not aiming for your head. 529 00:42:55.355 --> 00:42:56.295 I'm aiming for your heart. 530 00:42:57.594 --> 00:43:01.695 I'm trying to get to something deeper under the surface to help you understand 531 00:43:02.005 --> 00:43:05.775 that all of your disappointment may actually be rooted in the wrong thing. 532 00:43:08.815 --> 00:43:10.555 He doesn't just want to appease their head knowledge. 533 00:43:10.675 --> 00:43:11.795 He wants to speak to their hearts. 534 00:43:12.685 --> 00:43:15.315 Let's go ahead and we're gonna move through a decent chunk of the passage here 535 00:43:15.594 --> 00:43:18.835 and, and we're just gonna make some observations along the way. 536 00:43:18.895 --> 00:43:20.555 It says that Jesus said to them, 537 00:43:21.155 --> 00:43:23.955 what is this conversation that you're holding with each other as you walk? 538 00:43:24.855 --> 00:43:26.355 And they stood still. They were looking sad. 539 00:43:26.905 --> 00:43:29.755 Then one of them named Cleopas answered him. He said, 540 00:43:30.055 --> 00:43:34.235 are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have 541 00:43:34.395 --> 00:43:35.435 happened here in these past few days? 542 00:43:38.605 --> 00:43:39.465 You ever feel that way? 543 00:43:40.805 --> 00:43:43.785 You ever feel like Jesus is the only person around who doesn't understand your 544 00:43:43.786 --> 00:43:47.355 pain? And Jesus said to them, 545 00:43:48.035 --> 00:43:52.515 what things just indulge me? What do you, what, what happened? 546 00:43:52.815 --> 00:43:56.795 What's been going on here the past couple of days, guys? And they said to him, 547 00:43:57.755 --> 00:44:00.475 the thing is concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, 548 00:44:00.735 --> 00:44:04.915 mighty indeed in word before God and all the people and how our chief priests 549 00:44:04.916 --> 00:44:09.035 and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. 550 00:44:09.055 --> 00:44:11.995 But we had hoped, I want you to stop right there. 551 00:44:14.175 --> 00:44:15.435 How do you finish that sentence? 552 00:44:17.855 --> 00:44:19.505 What are the hopes that you have? 553 00:44:21.844 --> 00:44:24.425 And where do you feel like Jesus had let you down? 554 00:44:28.055 --> 00:44:30.975 They continued. They said, but we had hoped he was, 555 00:44:31.125 --> 00:44:32.445 was the one who had redeemed Israel. 556 00:44:33.395 --> 00:44:35.655 Now here's what's important to know about their hopes, right? 557 00:44:36.285 --> 00:44:41.255 They were false hopes. They bel See, we know in hindsight now that Jesus, yes, 558 00:44:41.256 --> 00:44:44.175 he did come to redeem Israel, but it was much bigger than that. 559 00:44:44.195 --> 00:44:47.255 He was coming to restore all of humanity to himself. 560 00:44:47.485 --> 00:44:50.175 What they believed was that Jesus is gonna come in, 561 00:44:50.176 --> 00:44:53.094 he's gonna be this political ruler, he's gonna overthrow the government. Uh, 562 00:44:53.095 --> 00:44:55.015 the government is gonna be their footstools. 563 00:44:55.016 --> 00:44:57.375 They're gonna be sitting at his right and left hand like, yeah, Jesus, 564 00:44:57.645 --> 00:45:00.935 look at us now. And when Jesus didn't do that, they got disappointed in him. 565 00:45:00.936 --> 00:45:04.575 And I just wonder how many times we get disappointed in a version of Jesus that 566 00:45:04.655 --> 00:45:05.695 he didn't present to us himself. 567 00:45:07.355 --> 00:45:12.155 I wonder how many times we fabricate a voice of God that isn't 568 00:45:12.156 --> 00:45:15.445 aligned with the word of God. And so Jesus, 569 00:45:17.105 --> 00:45:21.965 he starts cooking man . Well, first the the disciples, 570 00:45:21.966 --> 00:45:24.405 they continue. They say Yes, besides all this, 571 00:45:24.885 --> 00:45:27.045 it's now the third day since these things happen. Moreover, 572 00:45:27.114 --> 00:45:29.005 some women of our company amazed us. 573 00:45:29.355 --> 00:45:32.685 They were at the tomb early in the morning and when they did not find his body, 574 00:45:32.686 --> 00:45:34.445 they came back and said, uh, 575 00:45:34.446 --> 00:45:37.645 they had even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 576 00:45:38.114 --> 00:45:41.405 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women 577 00:45:41.425 --> 00:45:44.925 had said, but they did not see it. I'm sorry, but him, they did not see, 578 00:45:46.185 --> 00:45:50.114 some of you are in this position as well, Easter's coming up 579 00:45:52.094 --> 00:45:53.995 and you feel like, yeah, I'm gonna show up on Sunday. 580 00:45:54.055 --> 00:45:55.275 I'm gonna put on my Sunday best. 581 00:45:57.575 --> 00:46:01.844 I know Jesus isn't in the grave, but man, where is he? 582 00:46:03.455 --> 00:46:08.385 That's where these disciples are. Jesus. He's not in that tomb anymore. 583 00:46:09.555 --> 00:46:14.265 But man, we don't know where he is at. And Jesus responds to him. 584 00:46:14.266 --> 00:46:14.826 He says, oh, 585 00:46:14.826 --> 00:46:18.665 foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken. Yo, 586 00:46:18.666 --> 00:46:23.625 did Jesus just call us dumb and like Shakespearean language that 587 00:46:23.626 --> 00:46:27.985 Jesus just roast us? not really. You see, back in the day, 588 00:46:27.986 --> 00:46:32.545 the term foolish wasn't necessarily an insult as much as it was a way of saying, 589 00:46:32.605 --> 00:46:35.065 Hey, listen, you got all the puzzle pieces, but you, 590 00:46:35.066 --> 00:46:39.305 you don't know what the picture is. You've got all this information, 591 00:46:39.844 --> 00:46:41.465 but somehow you're still missing the point. 592 00:46:42.565 --> 00:46:44.864 And so Jesus starts clarifying it for him. He says, 593 00:46:45.005 --> 00:46:47.905 was it not necessary that that the Christ should, 594 00:46:48.245 --> 00:46:51.145 should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 595 00:46:51.765 --> 00:46:53.905 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, 596 00:46:53.906 --> 00:46:56.945 Jesus began to interpret to them and all the scriptures, 597 00:46:57.344 --> 00:46:58.945 the things concerning himself. 598 00:46:59.795 --> 00:47:02.105 Jesus in this moment looks at the disciples and goes, he goes, 599 00:47:02.125 --> 00:47:05.565 why are you shocked when the plan is according to schedule? 600 00:47:06.745 --> 00:47:09.005 And in the next few minutes, he helps him understand, man, 601 00:47:09.065 --> 00:47:10.765 you don't understand the book. 602 00:47:12.535 --> 00:47:15.715 See in your version of the story, I came here to make your life easy. 603 00:47:17.075 --> 00:47:20.315 In your version of the story, you were never gonna have any disappointments. 604 00:47:20.316 --> 00:47:21.915 You were never gonna feel let down about anything. 605 00:47:23.745 --> 00:47:27.285 But then Jesus starts breaking down to them all the ways that no, listen, 606 00:47:27.705 --> 00:47:30.125 all of this stuff, my death, my burial, 607 00:47:30.275 --> 00:47:34.525 it's all according to God's plan that he set in motion from the beginning. 608 00:47:36.165 --> 00:47:38.675 Jesus is the hero of the whole story. 609 00:47:41.035 --> 00:47:44.435 I want you to think about how one by one with each new revelation, 610 00:47:44.436 --> 00:47:47.835 the disappointment of these disciples probably started to melt away as they 611 00:47:48.195 --> 00:47:52.635 became more aware that they had completely misunderstood the story that God was 612 00:47:52.636 --> 00:47:53.469 telling all along. 613 00:47:55.495 --> 00:47:58.215 I want you to think about how their disappointments melt away as they realized 614 00:47:58.216 --> 00:48:02.495 that there was more to the story. I wanna show you something. Uh, 615 00:48:02.496 --> 00:48:04.295 if I had the time, we would do the thing that Jesus did. 616 00:48:04.296 --> 00:48:07.135 We would walk through the entire Old Testament and we would talk about how he 617 00:48:07.136 --> 00:48:09.295 meets us in the middle of all this stuff. We don't have time for that, 618 00:48:09.435 --> 00:48:10.735 but I do wanna show you this, okay? 619 00:48:10.925 --> 00:48:14.614 This is a photo of biblical cross references. 620 00:48:16.055 --> 00:48:18.175 Okay? I know it seems a little bit confusing if you don't know what it is we're 621 00:48:18.176 --> 00:48:19.815 looking at. So at the bottom, 622 00:48:19.995 --> 00:48:21.975 all those little white lines that you see coming down, 623 00:48:22.075 --> 00:48:26.945 that's every chapter of the Bible and each of those thin lines that 624 00:48:26.946 --> 00:48:27.825 kind of look like a rainbow. 625 00:48:28.525 --> 00:48:31.185 It shows you where something is first mentioned in scripture, 626 00:48:31.565 --> 00:48:34.265 and then it shows you where that thing is fulfilled later on in scripture. 627 00:48:34.275 --> 00:48:37.185 First of all, if you ever doubted that scripture was true, just look at this. 628 00:48:39.455 --> 00:48:44.355 But what I love about this photo is that it shows that God 629 00:48:44.455 --> 00:48:49.395 has been telling one intricate story that weaves itself together over time 630 00:48:49.905 --> 00:48:51.635 from Genesis to Revelation. 631 00:48:52.735 --> 00:48:57.075 He starts something and maybe thousands of years later he finishes it. 632 00:48:57.255 --> 00:48:58.995 But it's all a part of the story. 633 00:48:58.996 --> 00:49:01.955 But you wanna know where disappointment happens. It happens in the curve. 634 00:49:04.175 --> 00:49:07.515 It happens between the moment when God says something and when that thing gets 635 00:49:07.516 --> 00:49:11.364 fulfilled. And that's where so many of us find ourselves. 636 00:49:12.735 --> 00:49:17.605 We're in the curve. I think two reasons why we get disappointed, 637 00:49:17.606 --> 00:49:20.725 just like the disciples is one, we don't understand the story. 638 00:49:22.844 --> 00:49:25.955 Maybe the reason why God has let you down is that you're banking on a promise 639 00:49:25.956 --> 00:49:26.995 that he never made. 640 00:49:28.695 --> 00:49:32.435 The second reason why I think we get disappointed is because we're in the middle 641 00:49:32.535 --> 00:49:36.275 of the story. We find ourselves in the curve and it just hasn't, 642 00:49:36.335 --> 00:49:40.755 he hasn't put a bow on that story yet. The problem is, 643 00:49:41.055 --> 00:49:42.915 is that we don't know which of these two things we're facing. 644 00:49:43.775 --> 00:49:46.555 And so this is where trust and faith come in. 645 00:49:50.015 --> 00:49:52.135 I said before we get outta here, I I don't wanna leave you hanging. 646 00:49:52.255 --> 00:49:55.775 I want you to know how this story ends. It's, it's really, really cool actually. 647 00:49:56.185 --> 00:49:59.855 Jesus continues explaining everything to these two men on the road to Emmaus. 648 00:49:59.856 --> 00:50:02.695 And as they get close to reaching their destination, uh, they're like, Hey, 649 00:50:02.696 --> 00:50:05.655 Jesus, will you stick around and have dinner with us? And so he does. 650 00:50:05.655 --> 00:50:08.455 And so Luke's 24 30 through 35 says this. 651 00:50:08.575 --> 00:50:10.415 It says that when he was at the table with them, 652 00:50:10.755 --> 00:50:14.255 he took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them 653 00:50:15.655 --> 00:50:18.594 and their eyes were opened and they recognized him. 654 00:50:19.045 --> 00:50:21.035 Think about how cool that is. , 655 00:50:21.875 --> 00:50:23.835 you've been hanging out with this guy all day. He goes, Hey, 656 00:50:23.836 --> 00:50:26.275 you want something to eat? Oh, by the way, I'm Jesus . 657 00:50:27.665 --> 00:50:29.565 And then here's that teleportation thing. 658 00:50:29.566 --> 00:50:32.525 He vanished from their sight and they said to each other, man, 659 00:50:32.625 --> 00:50:37.045 did our hearts not burn within us while he talked to us on the road while he 660 00:50:37.046 --> 00:50:38.285 opened us to the scriptures. 661 00:50:38.425 --> 00:50:42.125 And they arose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem and they found the 11 662 00:50:42.385 --> 00:50:44.685 and those who were with them gathered together saying, 663 00:50:46.025 --> 00:50:50.165 the Lord has risen indeed and has prepared, I'm sorry, has appeared to Simon. 664 00:50:50.475 --> 00:50:53.885 Then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the 665 00:50:54.045 --> 00:50:54.878 breaking of bread. 666 00:50:55.045 --> 00:50:58.965 I think it's weird how Jesus decides to reveal himself to do the grand reveal. 667 00:50:59.625 --> 00:51:02.005 And I don't know for a fact that this is 100% true, 668 00:51:02.006 --> 00:51:06.525 but what I think Jesus was doing here was he was making a callback to the first 669 00:51:06.526 --> 00:51:07.359 communion. 670 00:51:08.885 --> 00:51:11.805 Remember he broke the bread and he gave it to the disciples. 671 00:51:11.806 --> 00:51:14.925 And what was the command he gave them with that? He said, remember, 672 00:51:18.614 --> 00:51:23.594 And I think it's in remembering all that God had done through 673 00:51:23.595 --> 00:51:25.715 the scriptures, through the Old Testament, 674 00:51:25.775 --> 00:51:27.635 all these things that Jesus had brought to their memory, 675 00:51:27.985 --> 00:51:32.195 it's through the remembering the goodness of God that the disappointment started 676 00:51:32.196 --> 00:51:33.029 to melt away. 677 00:51:36.225 --> 00:51:39.145 I wanna go back to Psalm 77 678 00:51:40.895 --> 00:51:45.625 because there's a turn in the story after the psalmist is voicing all of his 679 00:51:45.905 --> 00:51:49.265 frustrations to God. There's this little word in there, which in in your Bible, 680 00:51:49.285 --> 00:51:51.985 in the Book of Psalms, you may see it come up a lot. It's Sila. 681 00:51:53.815 --> 00:51:55.675 And if we're honest, we don't really know what that word means. 682 00:51:55.676 --> 00:51:57.635 Like biblical scholars have been studying it for years. 683 00:51:57.735 --> 00:51:58.995 No one really knows what it means, 684 00:51:59.295 --> 00:52:02.114 but it's one of two things we can kind of guess. 685 00:52:02.465 --> 00:52:07.355 It's either like some sort of musical interlude or it's a moment to 686 00:52:07.356 --> 00:52:09.075 pause and reflect. And I personally, 687 00:52:09.155 --> 00:52:12.915 I I choose to think it's that one because usually when we see this word, 688 00:52:13.255 --> 00:52:16.955 the tone changes a little bit in these psalms, the psalmist, 689 00:52:16.956 --> 00:52:19.715 he voices his frustration and then it says sah. 690 00:52:19.716 --> 00:52:23.875 So I just want you to imagine taking a break, an intentional pregnant pause, 691 00:52:23.876 --> 00:52:24.835 taking a deep breath. 692 00:52:28.325 --> 00:52:29.655 I've voiced my frustrations. 693 00:52:31.094 --> 00:52:35.325 I've let God know about my disappointments and then look at what comes next. 694 00:52:37.535 --> 00:52:41.735 I said, this is my fate. The most high has turned his hand against me. 695 00:52:43.555 --> 00:52:47.975 But then I recall all you have done, oh Lord, 696 00:52:49.215 --> 00:52:53.055 I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They're constantly in my thoughts. 697 00:52:53.175 --> 00:52:56.735 I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. Oh God, your ways are holy. 698 00:52:57.114 --> 00:53:01.855 Is there any God as mighty as you? You are the God of great wonders. 699 00:53:02.114 --> 00:53:06.094 You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations by your strong arm. 700 00:53:06.155 --> 00:53:07.535 You redeemed your people, 701 00:53:07.675 --> 00:53:11.175 the descendants of Jacob and Joseph Sayah. 702 00:53:17.395 --> 00:53:19.175 God, when the Red Sea saw you, 703 00:53:19.755 --> 00:53:24.415 its waters looked and sh trembled the sea quaked to its very depths. 704 00:53:24.435 --> 00:53:28.885 The cloud poured in rain, the thunder rumbled in the sky. 705 00:53:28.886 --> 00:53:33.085 Your arrows of lightning flash. Your thunder roar roared from the whirlwind. 706 00:53:33.086 --> 00:53:34.605 The lightning lit up the world. 707 00:53:35.185 --> 00:53:39.005 The earth trembled and shook your road led through the sea. 708 00:53:39.006 --> 00:53:42.285 Your pathway through the mighty waters a pathway no one knew was there. 709 00:53:42.585 --> 00:53:47.445 You led your people all along that road like a flock of sheep with Moses and 710 00:53:47.446 --> 00:53:50.605 Aaron as their shepherds. Do you see what the psalmist did here? 711 00:53:50.606 --> 00:53:53.725 In the middle of his despair and his disappointment, he stopped. 712 00:53:53.985 --> 00:53:57.765 He breathed and he remembered how good God had been in the past. And he said, 713 00:53:57.766 --> 00:54:02.485 how can I walk away? Look at this mountain of God's faithfulness, 714 00:54:03.515 --> 00:54:06.045 even in the shadow of this disappointment, man, 715 00:54:06.165 --> 00:54:08.885 I can't neglect all the good he's done in my life, 716 00:54:10.864 --> 00:54:14.364 but he couldn't get there without being brutally honest in those first nine 717 00:54:14.385 --> 00:54:17.805 verses, he had to deal with the disappointment. 718 00:54:21.655 --> 00:54:24.114 You know, the road to Emmaus has become symbolic 719 00:54:25.655 --> 00:54:29.075 of this pathway of dealing with disappointment and disillusionment with God. 720 00:54:30.575 --> 00:54:33.675 And I think so many of us try to avoid that path at all costs. 721 00:54:35.335 --> 00:54:36.995 But what if the disciples didn't take that route? 722 00:54:38.105 --> 00:54:38.938 What. 723 00:54:39.175 --> 00:54:43.135 If they wouldn't have walked down the road to Emmaus? I I just wonder if, 724 00:54:43.155 --> 00:54:45.055 for us avoiding our disappointment, 725 00:54:45.375 --> 00:54:48.935 I wonder if we are missing and avoiding the places where God wants to meet us 726 00:54:48.936 --> 00:54:52.245 most in the honesty, 727 00:54:53.505 --> 00:54:56.165 in the disappointment, in the frustration, 728 00:54:57.025 --> 00:55:00.085 in the raw realities of the depths of our hearts. 729 00:55:00.086 --> 00:55:04.605 What if God wants to meet us there? And what if we keep avoiding that place? 730 00:55:05.745 --> 00:55:07.645 So here you go. I'm gonna give you your next step. You ready? 731 00:55:08.405 --> 00:55:12.375 It's the same way we started this whole thing off. I want you to be honest. 732 00:55:15.425 --> 00:55:17.735 First, be honest with yourself. 733 00:55:19.855 --> 00:55:22.265 Tell yourself, yeah, I'm angry, 734 00:55:23.925 --> 00:55:26.585 and then realize that God can handle your anger. 735 00:55:26.685 --> 00:55:28.745 So the second thing is be honest with God. 736 00:55:31.165 --> 00:55:33.785 And then finally, just as the psalmist did, 737 00:55:35.015 --> 00:55:38.225 just as Jesus did for those disciples on the road to Emmaus, 738 00:55:39.225 --> 00:55:43.705 I want you to allow the Holy Spirit to fill your mind with God's prolonged 739 00:55:43.706 --> 00:55:48.065 faithfulness. Remind yourself of how good he's been in the past 740 00:55:49.885 --> 00:55:52.785 and trust man, maybe I'm just in the middle of a story, 741 00:55:54.315 --> 00:55:59.225 maybe I'm in the curve, or maybe he's doing something even better 742 00:56:01.245 --> 00:56:05.145 either way. If you have that disappointment, bring it to him. Let's pray. Father 743 00:56:10.405 --> 00:56:13.705 God, thank you that you have thicker skin than we do. 744 00:56:21.344 --> 00:56:24.844 God thank you that you're not rattled. 745 00:56:28.025 --> 00:56:31.405 God, if anybody has the right to be disappointed, 746 00:56:32.145 --> 00:56:34.005 you have the right to be disappointed in us. 747 00:56:36.705 --> 00:56:40.725 But God, you draw near God. 748 00:56:40.726 --> 00:56:44.925 Even when we mess up, even when we blow it, you draw closer to us. 749 00:56:45.155 --> 00:56:45.785 Holy Spirit, 750 00:56:45.785 --> 00:56:50.205 we ask for your power to draw closer to you in the times of our disappointment, 751 00:56:50.344 --> 00:56:51.605 God, where else can we go? 752 00:56:54.665 --> 00:56:57.165 We can go and sit in a corner and be upset 753 00:56:59.925 --> 00:57:01.085 or God, we can come to you 754 00:57:02.725 --> 00:57:07.605 who your word promises that you are close to the broken hearted. God, 755 00:57:07.606 --> 00:57:09.405 you're there when we're struggling. 756 00:57:11.145 --> 00:57:12.965 You're there in the midst of our confusion. 757 00:57:15.344 --> 00:57:19.165 God forgive us in our arrogance when in our our disappointments, 758 00:57:19.166 --> 00:57:24.125 we run away from you. Father, 759 00:57:24.275 --> 00:57:27.765 draw us close. God, 760 00:57:27.766 --> 00:57:32.325 when we come up to you like an angry child beating our hands on your chest 761 00:57:33.145 --> 00:57:35.005 saying, why would you do this? God, 762 00:57:35.006 --> 00:57:37.645 just wrap your arms around us and comfort us. 763 00:57:41.555 --> 00:57:46.165 Lord, remind us of your faithfulness and your goodness and the truth that man, 764 00:57:46.265 --> 00:57:50.765 you sent your son when we were at our lowest 765 00:57:53.145 --> 00:57:57.685 To meet us and to die for us. God, you, your character, 766 00:57:57.686 --> 00:57:59.765 your heart is that you draw close to us 767 00:58:03.635 --> 00:58:07.845 Lord. We're grateful. We're grateful. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.